6-1 A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments 5-17

Notification of 

Change 

In this chapter...

A: Introduction to Notification of Change .............................................................................................. 6-2

When to use NOCs ...................................................................................................................................................... 6-2 

Benefit Payments ............................................................................................................................................................. 6-2 

Other Payment Types ..................................................................................................................................................... 6-2 

When to use NOCs, ENRs, or Other Ways to Change Recipient Information ...................................... 6-2 

Processing Timeframes ............................................................................................................................................ 6-3 

What to do if an agency does not respond to a NOC within two payment cycles: ............................ 6-3 

Change Reason Codes ............................................................................................................................................... 6-3 

Claim Number Structure .......................................................................................................................................... 6-4 

Claim Number Structure Table ............................................................................................................................. 6-4 

B: Other Change Methods ............................................................................................................................ 6-4

Financial Institution Actions .................................................................................................................................. 6-5 

C: Refused Notification of Change ............................................................................................................. 6-7

Federal Agencies Using Refused NOCs ............................................................................................................... 6-7 

Processing Timeframes ............................................................................................................................................ 6-7 

Refused NOC Codes .................................................................................................................................................... 6-7 

6
A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments 6-2

Green Book 6. Notification of Change

A: Introduction to Notification of Change

Notification of Change (NOC), which is the name for Nacha’s Standard Entry Class (SEC) code COR, is 

a method used by a financial institution to notify a federal agency to correct or change account 

information in an entry the federal agency processed through the ACH. Refer to current Nacha 

Operating Rules & Guidelines for formats and instructions. 

Note: ENRs should not be used in place of NOCs to correct account information. Please see Chapter 1, 

Section F, Enrollment Guidance, for more information about when ENRs can be used. 

When to use NOCs

NOCs are used for federal government (both civil and military) payments that are made on a 

recurring basis. Examples are: 

Benefit Payments

x Benefit payments issued by Department of Veterans Affairs, 

x Civil service retirement payments issued by Office of Personnel Management, 

x Benefit payments issued by Railroad Retirement Board, 

x Social Security benefit payments, and 

x Supplemental Security Income payments. 

Other Payment Types

x Federal salary, 

x TreasuryDirect, and 

x Vendor and miscellaneous. 

When to use CORs, ENRs, or Other Ways to Change Recipient Information

To change Recipient would

Title/ownership of account 

Interest of the recipient or beneficiary in the account Complete a new enrollment 

From one financial institution to another 

New bank account number at the existing financial 

institution 

Submit ENR or COR 

Name of recipient or change of mailing address Contact the federal agency that authorized the 

payment 

Account information for one-time payments One-time payments require a new authorization 
6. Notification of Change Green Book

6-3 A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments

Processing Timeframes

Generally, CORs will be processed for the next ACH transaction. Due to operational limitations, it 

may take two payment cycles for some CORs to be processed. 

What to do if an agency does not respond to a COR within two payment 

cycles:

• Verify that the COR was properly formatted. Make sure that the COR contained the correct 

original RDFI routing number. 

• If the COR was correctly formatted, contact Fiscal Service. See Contact information below. Fiscal 

Service will work with the agency for resolution. 

• Make sure that rejected CORs are acknowledged and resolved (See below). 

If you have any questions, contact the Fiscal Service Payment Management Call Center, at 

855-868-0151, Option 1. 

Change Reason Codes

The federal government’s disbursing systems are only able to process the following six authorized 

COR/Change codes: C01, C02, C03, C05, C06, and C07. The federal agencies will not process any 

others. 

The following table shows when to use the Change Reason Codes. 

Change Reason Code When to Use

C01 - Incorrect Account Number Correct data entry errors in the account information. 

Issue a new number to an existing account. 

Modify the account numbering system (e.g. to drop a branch code). 

C02 - Incorrect RTN Accommodate a merger or system consolidation. 

Change the RTN to the preferred RTN for the financial institution. 

C03 - Incorrect RTN and Incorrect 

Account Number 

Accommodate a merger or system consolidation. 

C05 - Incorrect Transaction Code Change from checking to savings or savings to checking. 

C06 - Incorrect Account Number 

and Incorrect Transaction 

Code 

Correct a data entry error in the account information and change 

from checking to savings or savings to checking. 

Issue a new account number and transaction code. 

C07 - Incorrect RTN, Incorrect 

Account Number and 

Incorrect Transaction Code 

Accommodate a merger or system consolidation. 

Note: The only Transaction Codes recognized by the federal government for CORs are: 

For checking (demand) For savings For General Ledger 

22 (credit) 

27 (debit) 

32 (credit) 

37 (debit) 

42 (credit) 
Green Book 6. Notification of Change

A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments 6-4

Claim Number Structure

Federal agencies have special structures for their claim numbers (Individual ID number). The claim 

number is important to identifying the payment recipient whose payment information must be 

changed. 

Accurate formatting of the claim number is critical for processing changes. Note that pattern 

differences exist between federal agencies. These claim numbers must include all spaces, hyphens, 

prefixes, suffixes, alphanumeric characters, and trailing or leading zeros that accompanied the 

original payment information. 

Claim Number Structure Table

The following table represents correct claim number structures used in formatting CORs. 

Agency Claim Number Structure Example

Social Security Administration 999999999XX 

999999999X 

999999999 

123456789C1 

123456789A 

123456789 

Office of Personnel Management Xb9999999bXb 

Xb9999999b9b 

F_1234567_W_ 

A_1234567_0_ 

Department of Veterans Affairs 999999999b99b99 

99999999b99b99 

162306890_10_01 

12345678_00_06 

Railroad Retirement Board 

Retirement/Annuity 

Unemployment/Sickness 

XXX999999999b9b 

Xbb999999bbbb9b 

XXbZZZZZ9bbbb9b 

bbb999999999 

WCA123456789_7_ 

A 123456 1_ 

WD_000006 8_ 

 123456789 

Department of Labor 999999999XXbXXb 123456789LW_MB_ 

Key: X = alphanumeric, 9 = numeric, b = blank, Z = zero filled, _ = space 

B: Other Change Methods

Financial institutions not using CORs may continue to submit: 

• corrected Direct Deposit Sign-Up Forms (FS Form 1199As) to federal agencies, or 

• letters to federal agencies requesting changes. 
6. Notification of Change Green Book

6-5 A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments

Financial Institution Actions

The table below contains instructions for financial institutions not using CORs. 

Type of Payment Fewer than 100 payments 

(mail corrected SF119As or letters) 

More than 100 

payments (call) 

Air Force 

Active Duty Reserve 

Air National Guard 

Active Duty Allotments 

Defense Finance and Accounting Service 

6760 E. Irvington Place 

Building 444/JMS 

Denver, CO 80279-3000 

(303) 676-4326 

(303) 676-7213 

Army 

Active Duty Reserve 

Active Duty Allotments 

DFAS - Indianapolis Center 

8899 E. 56th Street 

Indianapolis, IN 46249-2801 

(888) 332-7411 

Coast Guard 

Active Duty (Code PS) 

Reserves (Code RES) 

Retired (Code RPD)

Commanding Officer (Code ) 

US Coast Guard 

Pay and Personnel Center 

444 SE Quincy Street 

Topeka, KS 66683-3591 

(785) 339-3506

Department of Veterans Affairs 

Veterans Compensation, Pension or Education 

(MGIB) 

Veterans Life Insurance 

VA Regional Office that maintains the 

veteran’s records 

(877) 838-2778 

(215) 842-2000 

ext. 14270

Fiscal Service 

Federal Housing Administration 

Debenture Payments 

State and Local Government Series Securities 

Payments 

United States Mortgage Guaranty Insurance 

Company and Tax Loss Bonds Payments 

Bureau of the Fiscal Service 

Special Investments Branch Warehouse 

and Operations Center, Dock 1 

257 Bosley Industrial Park Drive 

Parkersburg, WV 26101 

(304) 480-5299 

TreasuryDirect Bureau of the Fiscal Service 

Treasury Retail Securities Services

P.O. Box 9150 

Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150 

(844) 284-2676 

Note: Financial institutions should submit systemwide changes to TreasuryDirect with the understanding that they agree to 

pay the Treasury and security owners for any losses resulting from errors made by the institution. (31 CFR part 370.12) 

Savings Bonds Federal Reserve 

Bank of Pittsburgh 

P.O. Box 299 

Pittsburgh, PA 15230-0299 

(800) 322-1909

Federal Salary and Allotment payments 

Federal salary and Allotment payments 

(including payments by the military to civilian 

employees) (FED SALARY) 

Federal employing agency authorizing the payment (address 

where original FS Form 1199As were mailed). If address is 

unknown, contact recipient/member. 

Marine Corps DFAS - Kansas City Center (888) 332-7411 
Green Book 6. Notification of Change

A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments 6-6

Type of Payment Fewer than 100 payments 

(mail corrected SF119As or letters) 

More than 100 

payments (call) 

Active Duty/Reserve

Active Duty Allotment

1500 E. 95th Street 

Kansas City, MO 64197-0001 

Military Retirement Pay 

Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps

DFAS - Cleveland Center Retired Pay 

Operations 

P.O. Box 99191 

Cleveland, OH 44199-1126 

(800) 321-1081 

fax: (800) 469-6559 

DC Metro Area ONLY: 

(202) 606-0500 

Navy 

Active Duty

Reserve

DFAS - Cleveland Center/JFECA 

1240 East Ninth Street 

Cleveland, OH 44199-2055 

(216) 522-5855 

Office of Personnel Management 

Civil Service Retirement

(Annuity)

(CIVIL SERVE)

Office of Personnel Management 

Retirement Operations Center 

P.O. Box 45 

Boyers, PA 16017 

(888) 767-6738 

fax: (724) 794-6633 

Railroad Retirement Board 

Railroad Retirement

(RR RET)

Railroad Retirement Board 

Direct Deposit Coordinator 

844 North Rush Street 

Chicago, IL 60611 

(312) 751-4704 

 
6. Notification of Change Green Book

6-7 A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments

C: Refused Notification of Change

Refused Notification of Change is an automated method used by a federal agency to notify the 

originating financial institution that the COR information initiated cannot be processed. 

Federal Agencies Using Refused CORs

The Social Security Administration (SSA), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), and the Office of 

Personnel Management (OMB) are the only federal agencies processing Refused CORs at this time. 

Processing Timeframes

CORs that cannot be processed are usually refused to the financial institution before the next 

payment is submitted. 

Refused COR Codes

There are six refused COR codes authorized for federal government ACH entries: 

Code Reason

C64 Incorrect individual identification 

C65 Incorrectly formatted corrected data 

C66 Incorrect discretionary data 

C67 Routing Transit Number not from original Entry Detail Record 

C68 DFI Account Number not from original Entry Detail Record 

C69 Incorrect Transaction Code